On the Trail of Web Customers

New software from Witness Systems Inc. enables companies to monitor how customers use the self-service pages on their Web sites.

New software from Witness Systems Inc. enables companies to monitor how customers use the self-service pages on their Web sites.
With eQuality Discover, which was introduced this month, IT managers can set up a system to record, play back and analyze customer sessions using a self-service Web site. Customer service and marketing managers can use this information to improve site design and make sure the sites performance is meeting goals.

The software monitors a Web sites traffic and transmits relevant self- service interactions to a database.

Sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, is not stored in the database, said officials in San Diego.
With the stored data, a customer service manager can play, pause and rewind to see exactly what a visitor did on the Web site, including the amount of time spent on each page, to deconstruct that users experience.
The software also can be set to record only those visitor sessions that match a business rule, such as alerting an IT manager via e-mail when an error page pops up.

Pricing for eQuality Discover starts at $65,000 for one Web site address.